With new law in place, CSR spending will treble to over Rs 1.2 lakh crore/annum by 2035: Report
(source : ANI) ( Photo Credit : ani)
India’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) spending is set to skyrocket, tripling to over Rs 1.2 lakh crore each year by 2035. That would make it the biggest source of philanthropic capital in the country, according to a new report on CSR trends in India.
The projection comes from a steady 13.48 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in earnings from India’s top 100 listed companies. The report, titled “India Inc. for Building Bharat: How Systemic CSR is Building Enduring Impact for Tomorrow,” was released by The Convergence Foundation (TCF) and its partner organization SCALE, with co-authors India Impact Sherpas.
It spotlights key shifts in corporate philanthropy, like the growing use of “catalytic funding.” This means companies are directing money to groups that help governments build stronger public systems, tackling deep-rooted social problems.
India led the world in making CSR a legal requirement back on April 1, 2014. Under Section 135 of the Companies Act 2013, businesses with a certain level of turnover and profit must dedicate 2 percent of their average net profits from the previous three years to CSR activities.
Last year, in 2023-24, companies poured Rs 30,000 crore into CSR efforts. For comparison, the government dominates social sector funding, spending a massive Rs 25.7 lakh crore annually—that’s about 8 percent of India’s GDP.
At the report’s launch, Ashish Dhawan, founder and CEO of The Convergence Foundation, urged company leaders to rethink CSR. “CEOs can set a bold vision by viewing CSR as a long-term investment that delivers huge social returns,” he said. He stressed the need to hire dedicated CSR heads who truly care about impact.
Dhawan suggested treating a company’s entire CSR budget like an investment portfolio. This could blend direct projects, targeted programs, and bigger efforts to fix root causes of issues. As CSR funds grow in the coming years, he recommended aiming for 10-20 percent on those systemic initiatives for real, lasting change.
CSR in India has come a long way since the 2013 mandate kicked in. “In its next chapter over the next decade, we have a chance to turn CSR into a smart investment tool for real transformation,” said Govind Iyer, chair of the CSR committee at Infosys and a TCF advisory board member.
Just a decade after the law passed, corporate giving has evolved from a simple checkbox to a thoughtful strategy that drives meaningful progress.
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